NZ & International Fine Art - Day Sale Thursday, 15 February 2024 - 12:00 PM start
Douglas MacDiarmid (1922 - 2020) - Girl on Balcony
Lot Details
Douglas MacDiarmid (1922 - 2020) Girl on Balcony ink & watercolour signed (lower right) 23 x 31cm PROVENANCE Fleischl Collection NOTES Supplied by Anna Cahill, Director, MacDiarmid Arts Trust This charming study captures a young girl at the theatre, entranced by the performance. She is most likely at the opera, or a classical music concert, mirroring the painter’s taste in music. From the pastel colours and specific ‘D.K.’ signature, this watercolour was made in London or Paris during Douglas’ first overseas experience, between mid-1946 and 1949, when he returned to New Zealand for a year, before settling in France to dedicate his life to paint. In those heady, post-war days abroad, Douglas travelled widely, always with a sketchbook in his pocket, and never missed an opportunity to attend the best live theatre productions and music seasons he could never hope to see or hear in New Zealand. On this occasion, he appears to be seated in a nearby box and couldn’t resist the temptation to draw such an endearing little figure. There is an expressive ink & watercolour of Mario Fleischl of similar vintage, in the same greens and blues, titled ‘Conversation’ c.1947-48 in the New Zealand Parliament art collection at The Beehive. Douglas met up with Mario whenever he was in Europe, to talk in cafés, people-watch and attend concerts together.
